Fall Back on Plumbing Basics

By Billy Aldridge

With Fall only a week away, this week I thought I’d fall back on some plumbing basics.  When most people think about plumbing, they normally associate it with the household fixtures that let water into and out of the house, such as sinks, tubs and showers, toilets, water heaters, washing machine and dishwasher.  What they don’t consider is the unseen world of pipes and vents that are out of sight and mind behind the walls and under their feet that make all those fixtures do their thing.  In fact the only time that the average homeowner has any interest in their home’s plumbing is when something either backs up or springs a leak.  In point of fact, there are actually two plumbing systems contained in your house, one designed to bring water in and the other designed to let wastewater out. 

In With the Good Water

Everyone talks about water entering their home.  But it doesn’t enter so much as fly.  (If you’ve ever seen water spewing from an open hydrant you get my point.) This is due to the fact that city water is under pressure.  This allows it to travel across town around corners and uphill.  It also permits your neighbors to open a tap or flush a toilet without noticeably affecting your home’s water pressure.   But it’s also more pressure than your home appliances and fixtures can accommodate.  I mean when you turn on the shower you don’t want to have the water come out of the shower head with enough force to start peeling the tiles off the backsplash, do you?

The municipal water company typically sets the pressure at 100 psi or higher.   This is necessary to deliver water at pressure to fire hydrants, multi-story office buildings and for other high demand customers.  However, when it comes to your home needs, the maximum recommended pressure is 80 psi or less.  Therefore a pressure regulator is installed that is designed to protect both the house’s supply line and the fixtures and appliances inside your home.  If your home is experiencing either an excess of pressure or a lack of water pressure, this is one of the first places to look, since this one device controls the inflow of water to your entire house.

The other place is the cutoff valve, which is usually located near the curb.  The cutoff valve is one part of the plumbing that I advise every homeowner to become familiar since it can save you thousands of dollars in water damage should a pipe burst in your home.  (See the video below for more information.)

Once the water makes its way from the street to your home it flows through a meter which measures how much water you and your family use.  All water that enters your home comes in cold and is supplied to every sink, toilet, tap, irrigation system, dishwasher, washing machine bathtub and shower.  There are also water cutoffs located on or adjacent to every plumbing fixture in your home.  You need to not only familiarize yourself with their location and use, but you also need to exercise these cutoff valves so that they will be operational should you ever have a leak.  Otherwise you will be forced to shut off water to the entire house.

The cold water is also sent to your water heater, which then heats the water before sending it to every hot water tap in the house.  The hot water heater is also tasked with the responsibility of setting the water temperature.  Normally the water temperature is kept between 120 and 140 degrees Fahrenheit.  

Appliances such as the dishwasher that requires higher water temps usually have an internal water heating system that boost the water temperature to the proper level.

Out With the Bad

Whether your home plumbing is sewer or septic-based, all drainage is gravity fed.  This means that all pipes lead down which tends to pull waste along.  These pipes in turn lead to the sewer and ultimately to the municipal treatment system.  Sounds simple doesn’t it.  It is in principle.  But you have to factor in the fact that if your home’s plumbing was that straightforward, not only would you have waste flowing out of your home, but you would also have waste gases flowing into it. (And nobody wants that.)

That’s why your house comes equipped with a sophisticated system of vents, traps and clean outs that are designed to direct the flow of wastewater and gas such that it all heads out of your home.  In the first place if air wasn’t provided by the vents, no water would flow through the pipes.  Did you ever stick your thumb over a straw and pull the straw out of your soda?  That’s what would happen if air were not allowed to flow into your home’s pipes.  It would create a vacuum that would force you to siphon the water away. 

Traps are also vital to proper drainage.  Traps are designed to allow water to flow yet retain enough to prevent sewer gas from entering your home.  There is a trap associated with every fixture in your home, including every sink, tub and toilet.  One of the most conspicuous is located under any sink in your home. It’s the S-shaped section of pipe just below the basin. The other reason these traps are there are to collect hair, dirt and grease in order to prevent clogged drains. (See video below.)

Even if you aren’t the do-it-yourself type, having a basic knowledge of your home’s plumbing system can save you a lot of money should any part of your house’s plumbing system fail.  After all, when it comes to fallback plans, not having one is plumb crazy.

Billy Aldridge is one of the Doctors of Plumbology at Aldridge and Sons Plumbing in Jacksonville, Florida. For more helpful plumbing tips and how-to videos, go to 

http://plumbers-jacksonville-fl.com